Door for freight-cars.



C.'H. ANDRUS.

DOOR FOR FREIGHT CARS.

APPLICATION FILED IuIIE Io. I9I4.

1,152,261 Patented Aug. 31, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

CIIIIIIII -v- :E /6 v l 9) I I l llomey COLUMBIA PLANDURAPH C0.. WASHINGTON. D. c.

C. H. ANDRUS.

DOOR FOR FREIGHT CARS.

APPLICATION FILED I'uIIE Io. 1914.

l l 52,26 l i Patented Aug. 31, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

W/TNESSES NVENTOR @QI/VMM 4 5 Mrney DOOR, FOR FREIGHT-CARS. l

Speccation of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 31, 1915.

Application lediJune 10, 1914. `Serial No. 844,228.

T0 @ZZ whom it may concern: j

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. ANDRUS, of Harrisburg, in the county of Dauphin and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Doors for Freight-Cars; and l do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to an improvement in doors for freight cars, the object being to so guard the door at its upper and lower edges that it cannot fall from position, or project, or swing away from the side` of the car in the event any orv all of its hangers should be broken or disconnected from the door or car. Y

A further object is to provide improved means for supporting the door at the top whereby it may be readily and quickly moved from its flush position toa position in a plane to the outer side ofthe car body and back again to its flush position.

With these and other objects in view my invention consists in the parts and combinations of parts as will be more fully described and pointed out in the claims.

`In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation showing the door closed and locked; Fig. 2 is a similar View showing the door open; Fig. 3 is a view in section on the line ca -m of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a similar view on the line y-3/ of Fig. 2; F ig. 5 is a detached view of the sectional hanger; Fig. 6 is a view in section through the sectional hanger and track; Fig. 7 i-sxa view in section looking up toward the slotted rail and Fig. 8 is a view of a modification.

1 represents a freight car body, provided with the usual openings in its sides for the doors, only one of which however is shown, and 2 is the door constructed to closely fit said openingF and providedl at its upper end with the hangers 3 and 4, which latter move in a slot 5 in the door guiding and carrying rail 6. The slot 5 is T-shaped in cross section, and the hanger or bracket 3, is provided at its upper end, which rests within said slot, with an opening for the roller bearing, which may be an axle 8, with disk rollers 9 at its ends, the rollersbeing fast to the axle, or the hanger 3 may be provided with side extensions 10 concaved on their lower faces to rest on rollers which are oarthe 'rail 6. The section 4a door lat the top thereof near the front end,`

removable axle, so that in tion within slot'13 and `then `section 4a .ried within the runway of the guiding and carrying rail, as shown in Fig. 8. If the axle with the rollers 9 at the ends thereof be used, the hanger 3 should be provided with an opening the lower portion of which is suflicientlv large to permit of the passage of a roller, and the upper portion of said opening restricted so as to prevent any rolling movement of the axle within the hanger.

The hanger 4 is made in two sections one of which 4a, is secured to the door, and the other 4b suspended within the runway in is screwed to the and is provided at its upper free end with a roller 11, the axis of which is parallel with the outer face of the door. The section 4b is provided with a plurality of roller bearings similar to those described in connection with hanger 3, and with a centrally located depending projection 12, the long axis of which is at-right angles to the door. The

lroller bearings for the hangers are located in vertical planes to the front and to the rear of the depending projection 12, so that .the latter will be supported against a swinging or oscillating movement, and the depending projection is provided with an elongated slot 13, for the reception of the roller 11 carried by thelower section 4a of the hanger 4. This roller 11, is mounted on a assembling the placed in posisecured to its -by its axle which may be in the form of a bolt, headed at one end, and threaded atthe other for a nut. The slot 13 is sufficiently long to permit of a movement of the roller in one'direction suiicient for the front end of the door to clear the side of the car, and in the other direction, for the door to close flush with the side of the car. `The door is thus suspended from the rail 6 by the two hangers and is free to move lengthwise the rail 6 so as to carry the door from its closed to its open position, and its front end is free to move on the front hanger, in a direction at right angles to its opening and closing movement, a distance suficient to clear the sideof the car during the opening movement, and inwardly to a position flush with the side of the car in its closing movement.` The 'door is provided at its free end with the shaft 14, mounted in bearings 15, and provided at its parts, the roller 11 would be ends with the cranks which latter project respectively above and below the door. rEhe i which latter forms. a bottom support for the door Lwhen the latter iswholly or partly open. The sillplate 18 is provided with a flange 19 which projects above the lower edge of the door,in all positions of the lat-` ter and operates to guide the door, and prevent any outward swing or movement of the llower end of the latter, and it, and also the slot 5in rail 6 are curved so as to direct the rear endof the door inwardly toward its flush .position inclosing, and outwardly yso as to clear the side of the car in opening thedoor. i v

rThe rail 6 is provided at its outer edge with a v,depending flange 20 which projects below'the top edge ofthe door and prevents any outward movement of the door at the top, so that inthe event either or both of the hangers 'should be broken or become disconnected from the door, the latter will be held solidly against the possibility of outward displacement by the upwardly lprojecting flange on the sill plate and the depending flange on the'rail.

rllhe-shaft 14 is provided with a handle 21 Y `hinged" thereto by which theshaft is turned.

lVhen the door is closed it rests flush with the side of the car. By turning the shaft the' cranks 16 resting in slots in the rail and sill plate., movev the shaft outwardly thus carrying the front end of the door outwardly beyond theplane of the side of the car.. By now pushing the door to its open position, the curvature of the slot in the rail carries thel rear end of the doorl outwardly so that when the door is wholly open, it rests in a plane outside of the car body.

" By pushing the door rearwardly the rear end is guided intoy position in the door frame, and by turning the shaft, the front 'Copies of this patent may be obtained for end will be moved back in to its flush position within the door opening.

1t is evident that many slight changes might be resorted to inthe relative arrangement of parts shown and described without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention. Hence l would have it understood that l do not wish to confine myself to the exactconstruction and arrangement of parts shown and described but,

Having fully described my invention what 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters-Patent', is

1. rThe combination of a freight car having an opening for a flush door, a curved and slotted rail located in a plane above the door, a slotted. sill plate having a flange similarly curved, the flange on said plate projecting above the lower edge of the door, hangers suspending the door from the said slotted rail, and a shaft journaled in bearings on the door and having a crank at each end, one of said cranks resting in the slot in the sill plate and the other in the slot in the rail.

2. The combination of a freight car, having a door opening, a flush door, a curved and slotted rail in a plane above the door, a fixed'flange projecting below the ltop of the doorand forming an upper guard for the latter, hangers mounted on roller bearings within the slot in the rail and secured to the door, a slotted sill plate having a flangecurved to conform to the curvature of the slot in the rail and a shaft journaled tothe door and having vcranks at its ends, one cranlr resting in the slot in the rail and the other in the slot in the sill plate.

1n testimony whereof, 1 have signed this specication in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES H. ANDBUS. l/Vitnesses:

G. T. BAKER, Y?. J. Mclifonronn.

five cents each, 'by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C'. 

